If you aren't craving Thanksgiving leftovers today, I have a dish that is hearty and satisfying and also helps warm up the house on a cold day. Better yet, it's not turkey!
I like to experiment in the kitchen, and this time is no different. I recently took a familiar recipe for Braised Short Ribs and "winged it". Here's what I came up with:
Braised Short Ribs
Rub:
- 2-3 pounds beef short ribs
- 1 Tablespoon Charissa rub
- 1 teaspoon Thai red curry paste
- 1 Tablespoon Sesame oil
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
Flour mix:
- 1/2 cup rice flour
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Lawry's seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- Several grinds of black pepper
Main dish:
- 3 strips of bacon or approximately 1/4 pound of bacon
- 2 Serrano or Thai chiles de-seeded and sliced
- 1 Fresno or jalapeño chile de-seeded and diced
- 1 onion, large dice
- 1 shallot, small dice
- 2 ribs of celery, thin sliced
- 1 carrot, thin sliced
- 1 head baby bok choy, chopped
- 1 Tablespoon fresh ginger grated
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/2 can dark beer
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
- 2 Tablespoonos brown sugar
- 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
- 2 Tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Soy sauce
- 2 cups chicken stock
- Zest and juice from 1 lime
- 1/2 bunch cilantro chopped
- 1/2 bunch scallions sliced
The first step is to preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Then mix the curry paste, Charissa, brown sugar and sesame oil together.
Smear this paste all over the short ribs and let sit to marinate for 2 to 3 hours.
While the ribs marinate, slice the bacon into small strips and render it with 1 Tablespoon of sesame oil in a large Dutch oven or braising pan. Remove the bacon lardons and save the fat.
Mix all of the flour ingredients together. When ready to cook, heat up the large Dutch oven with the bacon fat. Dredge the coated ribs in the flour mix and brown evenly in all sides.
Remove ribs from the pan.
Add the onions, celery, shallot, carrot and stem portions of the bok choy. Sauté 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and saute another minute.
Add the beer and simmer 2-3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients except for the cilantro and scallions. Add the seared ribs back to the pan. Ensure they are covered with the liquid. If not, add a little more chicken stock. Place in the oven, uncovered, for 2-3 hours until the ribs are tender. Serve over Jasmine rice garnished with cilantro and scallions, and enjoy!
The beauty of short ribs is they can be flavored any way you like, from a traditional red wine sauce to Spanish style. If you are interested in learning more about braising, The Chopping Block's Braising Boot Camp coming up in January is a comprehensive deep dive into this technique.